Chapter 20 - Magical?Bloodbath (3)
Chapter 20 - Magical?Bloodbath (3)
'I wonder how Ms. Hye-Rim is doing?'
Even as Alice sang in front of the crowd, her mind was filled with worries about the heroes and Shin Hye-Rim.
In front of her were people who had traveled from all over Seoul and other parts of the country to see her. She wondered if they knew by now that the Monster Association was terrorizing the city.
'Ms. Hye-Rim said that the Monster Association might come here during the performance.'
While teaching Alice magic, Shin Hye-Rim repeatedly told her that the Monster Association would attack the concert venue as a last resort.
'Everyone is risking their lives to protect people, so I should also be of some use to them.'
Heroes and members of the Awakened Crime Division were risking their lives to fight monsters.
Alice may only be an idol, but she's a hero in her own right.
She thought she could finally do something heroic.
"Huh? What's that?"
"What's wrong?"
"Look at that."
The tension at the concert was about to reach its peak when suddenly, a strange vibe began to take over the crowd.
"It looks like there's a group rushing towards us?"
"Isn't that just the people who came to see Alice?"
"No, it doesn't seem like people; rather, it looks like monsters..."
"T-they are monsters!"
The people noticed and realized that a horde of monsters was coming toward them.
"Monsters! Monsters are coming here!"
"W-what?! Why are monsters coming here?!"
"Run away!"
"We can't stay here!"
Someone began to scramble and run, causing people to tangle and trip over each other. The concert venue quickly turned into chaos as thousands of people rushed to escape at once.
As Alice watched, she realized her moment had finally come.
"Everyone, look at me!"
Her energized voice echoed throughout the area. Everyone in the concert hall and onlookers outside turned to look at her.
Alice called out again.
"Everyone, stop going somewhere else and pay attention to me!"
The concert venue, which was about to be filled with screams and chaos, suddenly fell silent. The people who had been running away from the monsters, desperate to avoid being killed, were now looking at Alice as if mesmerized.
They didn't say anything; they just looked at her.
'So this is the magic Ms. Hye-Rim was talking about.'
It was an amazing sight, even for her.
Her own magic captures people's attention. Shin Hye-Rim had always told Alice that she was the only one who could calm the chaos.
If this many people tried to flee in disorder, there was no telling what kind of accidents might happen. People could be crushed to death by others rather than by monsters.
Alice's role was to stop that.
'Please... Ms. Hye-Rim. Please take care of the rest.'
She had done her part. All that was left was for Ms. Hye-Rim to clean up the monsters.
"It looks like Alice did a good job."
The people who were about to disperse in chaos a moment ago suddenly stopped and looked back toward the concert venue.
There was no telling where these uncontrolled people might go or what accidents they might cause, so it was a good idea to have Alice learn the spell.
"Now we can kill those monsters with peace of mind."
With less to worry about, the only concern left was the monsters. I added mana to the sword in my hand, and the blade glowed brightly as it absorbed it.
-Keeeeeeeeeek!!
-Kuwaaaaa!!!!
-Krrrr...!
Meanwhile, a horde of monsters rushed at me with tremendous momentum. I extended my sword and pointed it at them.
Slowly, I sliced my sword horizontally, cutting through the air leisurely in a horizontal line. After drawing a line from left to right, the sword stopped.
A mere slash through the air. The blade didn't even touch the beasts. My attack, however, did.
The first monster, the one running in front of me, was cut in half.
-Krrrr?!
The other monsters were stunned by the sudden dismemberment of the one that had been running so well. That was just the beginning.
All the nearby beasts were similarly cut in half and died, whether small or giant. It didn't matter who they were; they were all equal.
All the monsters started dying.
-Keeeek...!
-Kuwaaaa!!!
-Kirikkk......
-Kiaaaaaaaa!!!
With one grotesque scream after another, the monsters collapsed. In an instant, a thousand monsters were dead.
The streets in front of Jamsil were suddenly stained with the corpses and blood of the monsters.
The scene was quite horrifying.
"There are still a few left."
There were still monsters that were not dead. I swung my sword once more, and a few of the remaining monsters were cut down cleanly, leaving nothing behind.
It took me less than a minute to kill all 1,000 of them. This is why it was a good idea to lure them into Jamsil. I could kill them quickly if they were all in one place.
"I-it can't be."
Now all that was left was the rat-headed monster that had been watching the spectacle from afar. I flew and quickly approached the rat-headed monster.
"H-hieek...?!!"
As soon as it saw me, the rat let out a pathetic scream and stumbled backward.
"Monster! Y-you must be a monster?!"
"Who are you to call me a monster?"
Not the word I wanted to hear from a creature that looked like a cross between a human and a monster. The one who gave up being human, the one who praised monsters more than anyone else, called me a monster when it saw me.
That's ridiculous.
"Well, well, well. All your preparation was for naught, wasn't it?"
I laughed heartily and slowly approached the rat-headed monster. It continued to backpedal before quickly turning to run.
Slice!
I couldn't let it go, so I cut off the rat's ankle as it fled.
"Gaaaah?!"
The rat stumbled forward and looked up at me in horror. It had no time to feel the pain of having its leg cut off, only to scream at the terror that loomed before it.
"Y-you are the one who sabotaged our revolution?"
But the last words out of its mouth were not a plea for life.
"Revolution? You're full of crap. You guys are merely psychopaths who call terrorism a revolution."
"Answer me! Are you the one who noticed our revolution and prepared against it?!"
"Yeah, I am."
It was going to die anyway, so I answered neatly.
"You bastard...! If it weren't for you! If it weren't for a monster like you, the revolution would have succeeded!"
"I was wondering what you were going to say, but it was just a rant."
I thought it was having a last stand, but it wasn't. It was just bemoaning its lot before it died. I sheath my sword again. I didn't need to use it to kill this guy. Besides, I didn't want this monster to die too soon.
How many people have suffered because of you? I can't just kill you so simply.
I balled my fists and approached the rat. Sensing that I was about to kill it, the rat made a resigned face.
"Hahaha... It's fine. We still have a few tricks up our sleeves."
"Hmm?"
"We have our master! Master would be able to kill you!"
"...Heh."
Now he's giving me one last curse before he dies. Wow, I'm so grateful.
"If it's our master, the one that's closest to being a true monster, humans won't stand a chance aga-"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk."
This bastard talks too much, even though his only job left is to get beaten up.
"This rat is so unnecessarily noisy."
"Uh, what..?"
Let's just hit it first. No one will blame me if I make a mistake in controlling my power, leave it half-dead, or even kill it. I've got permission to kill anyway.
So let's have fun beating it up.
"Hey, you rat bastard."
"...Yes?"
"Try not to die too soon, alright?"
A moment later, I was looking at a dead rat with a huge front tooth ripped out and embedded in its head. Its body was twisted in several places, giving it a truly grotesque appearance.
The terror in Hongdae was stopped. The amusement park and the Great Park should also be mostly cleaned up by now.
"All that's left is Lames Jane."
The leader of the Monster Association is the final boss of Episode 1, who will be taken care of by Shin Chul-Min and Jung Ha-Yeon. It's a scene I was very impressed with in the original manga, so I'll have to see it for myself.
Time to get ready to pop some popcorn.
"Right now, I'm guessing that Lames Jane is in the Great Park."
The final battle with the Monster Association begins with Jung Ha-Yeon chasing after Lames Jane. Soon, it will be time for the duo to face off.
It's time to watch them grow.
Jung Ha-Yeon was puzzled by the strange orders from the Hero Association on Saturday morning. She was told to wait in the Great Park in plain clothes, and she wondered what was going on.
But now she understood.
The monsters suddenly appeared in the Great Park. The Association must have deployed the Heroes in anticipation of this.
"Whew."
Jung Ha-Yeon didn't know how many monsters she'd already killed. After finally defeating the monster in front of her, she caught her breath.
She thought she was close to defeating all the monsters in the Great Park. What would have happened if she hadn't seen them coming and hadn't been prepared?
A lot of people would have died.
Even if the Heroes had arrived belatedly, everyone in the Great Park would have been dead. She shuddered, thinking of it.
She might not have been able to protect people as a Hero.
"...Huh?"
As she was thinking about that and trying to finish off the remaining monsters, a figure caught her eye.
A man was watching from the roof of a building far away. He was so far away that she couldn't make out who he was, but she knew instinctively.
That man was someone she knew. It was him.
How could she forget the man who killed her friend?
"Lames Jane!"
Lames Jane was there. Why was he watching this? It was obvious.
These monsters must have been prepared by the Monster Association. They must have been trying to cause terrorism.
"I need to go after him."
She needed to catch up to Lames Jane before he left. But could she take him on alone?
She looked around and saw Shin Chul-Min fighting dozens of monsters. For a moment, she thought about taking him with her to chase after Lames Jane, but then she shook her head.
"There's no one here I can trust."
She knew Shin Chul-Min was strong, but there was a question mark over whether he was a match for Lames Jane. S-Rank Hero Lee Si-Hwan was here earlier, but she didn't know where he was now.
If she were to gather all the Heroes to chase after him, he'd notice and run away.
"I have to go alone."
Jung Ha-Yeon decided to go after him alone. She jumped into the air and headed toward where Lames Jane was.
"If only Ms. Hye-Rim was here."
She could have trusted Ms. Hye-Rim with Lames Jane, but she wasn't here right now. Now she was the only one who knew that bastard well.